In search of a mechanism: Mediating the perceived parental support–delinquency relationship with child empathy

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine whether empathy is capable of mediating the relationship between perceived parental support and juvenile delinquency. This hypothesis was tested in a path analysis of 3,865 (51% male) Australian schoolchildren (mean age = 12.4 years at first wave) using three waves of data with two years between each wave. The dependent variable (juvenile delinquency) was regressed onto cross-lagged independent and mediating latent variables (perceived parental support and empathy). As predicted, the pathway running from perceived parental support to empathy to delinquency was significant, the pathway running from empathy to perceived parental support to delinquency was nonsignificant, and the difference between the two pathways was significant. These findings indicate that parental support, as perceived and reported by the child, is instrumental in promoting empathy, which, in turn, may protect the youth against future delinquency.

KEYWORDS:

• Empathy
• delinquency
• perceived parental support
• mediation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

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Glenn D. Walters

Glenn D. Walters, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Kutztown University where he teaches classes in criminology, corrections, substance misuse and crime, and research methods. His principal research interests include offender assessment, mediation and moderation analysis, and the development of an overarching psychological theory of crime that combines social influences and antisocial cognition.